Refinancing

On Friday we went downtown to Central Texas Title for the closing on the refinance of our mortgage.


We figured this was our 11th closing, which means we've probably signed about 10,000 pieces of paper.


We had to wipe out most of our cash savings to get it done, but going from 6.5% to 4.75% will save us a lot of money in the long run.

Marc and Rebecca Hutchens

Marc and Rebecca came for a visit and we had a wonderful time. Julie and Rebecca got a pedacure while Marc and I attended our church's men's bible study. We had home-made ice cream and generally just a great couple of days.


The weather cooperated for some rockin' chair relaxation.

Playing with Granbury's Big Band

I had a wonderful time Sunday afternoon. The regular keyboard player for Granbury's Langdon Center Band, a group of musicians dedicated to playing Big Band Music of the 40's, was on vacation. A friend of mine who plays sax put in a good word for me and I was asked if i wanted to play with the group at this week's rehearsal. I said yes, not knowing what to expect, but it was a blast.

I was probably 60% competent, but I was essentially sight-reading everything. But the sounds were awesome and it was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget.

How Dallas

Last week was the annual Week of the Young Child parade down MLK Boulevard in Dallas. This is a very odd event that I thought deserves mention. Our good friend, Rebecca who is a teacher in Dallas Independent School District (DISD) was there and reported on the event that is so very ... Dallas.

The Child Care Group runs some Head Start programs and other places for 3,4, and 5 year old kids from around the city. These wide-eyed innocents are told by their teachers that they are going to be in a parade! Well, the kids can't wait. This parade consists of these little kids walking a mile through the roughest part of town, past boarded up houses, empty lots, and liquor stores. The newspaper reported crowds of onlookers, but our eyewitness account says the truth is more like some old folks sitting on the porches of their ram-shackle houses and homeless people hanging out on the street corners who stop their drug-dealing for a few minutes to watch the odd spectacle of toddlers trudging hand-in-hand, waving to some guy lifting a bottle wrapped in a paper bag.

The only float in the parade is a flat bed trailer pulled by a pick-up truck with a bunch of metal folding chairs on the back. Sitting on the chairs were a couple of "grandmas" that each center adopts. The celebrities in attendance were McGruff, the crime dog, Winnie-the-Poo, the Fire Department Dalmation, and someone dressed in a fox costume. (These are all people dressed up in costumes.)

At the end of the parade, the kids are made to sit on the grass and then line up to get back on the buses and head back to the centers. The kids are oblivious to why this is all being done, as are those of us who heard about it and couldn't help but laugh at the images it conjures.

Easter 2009

We celebrated Easter today at Dave & Sharla Martin's home in Arlington. With us were long-time friends, the Simons (Rachel in the lower right), and the Fairbanks (thanks Bob, for posting this picture). I've known Dave Martin from the our sophomore year in high school (class of '65). Can you believe he's worked at IBM for nearly 40 years!

My pictures from the iPhone weren't so hot, but here are the folks we've known for many years.

Julie has know Bob Fairbanks since high school days and Bob's wife, Emily, since college (I think).


Dr. Gary Simons is Chief Research Officer at Wycliffe Bible Translators. His daughter, Rachel, is a school teacher and wife Linda also works at Wycliffe. Off in the blurry is Carolyn Fairbanks who graduates from high school this year.


Dave & Sharla's youngest child, Joel, graduated from the University of Missouri and is now an engineer for an oil and gas company in Houston.


Thanks Sharla for a terrific meal and wonderful hospitality.

Were You There

Here's the link to listen to my arrangement of Were You There.

The music tries to reflect the content of each of the verses.
Verse 1 - Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Verse 2 - " " when they nailed him to the tree?
Verse 3 " " when they pierced his wounded side?
Verse 4 " " when they laid him in the tomb?

This is not a live recording, but an export of the digital file. You don't get the deep bass and ominous rumbling stuff, but I hope you get the idea and feel the dark terror of Good Friday.

Fires

Yesterday wild fires raged west of here and turned our skies into something more like smoggy Los Angeles than the bright air to which we have become accustomed up here on the hill. The atmosphere has cleared a little. I can see across the valley now. But yesterday afternoon at its worst it was like a fog or one of those 95% humidity days I remember in northern Indiana when you could hardly see a mile, only this was choking, acrid smoke.

Turns out the fires killed a former TV news guy from Dallas who had fled the city to get away from it all.

We've had burn bans in effect here nearly all year. I can count on one hand the days it has rained in that time. Storms are forecast for Sunday. Easter is always good for clearing the air.

Psanky

I had never heard of psanky before yesterday. It's a traditional craft from the Ukraine associated with the Easter season and probably originated before the Christian era. The ladies Bible study group at our church made these. It's very intricate work, layering the colors one at a time. Google psanky for more information.

New Patio Furniture

I spent most of my Sunday afternoon putting together the new patio set ...


...with some help, of course.

Spring on the Hill

Spring is really beautiful here on the hill overlooking the Brazos Valley. The trees have greened as have the meadows and here and there a few wildflowers splash color. The local newspaper says the hummingbirds are back, but I haven't seen any.

But spring can be violent here. For three days the winds just howled from the west at 20-30 mph sustained with gusts probably reaching 50 mph. Perched as we are on the cliff, we catch every bit of that sirocco. It knocks over patio furniture and even blows down my barbecue grill, including the heavy gas canister -- picks it up and slams it into the flower bed.

The raptors love the gale. The black buzzards soar in the current, warping wings in the gusts to hover over unsuspecting prey or, like children, stretching their feathered arms to see how fast they can jet across the sky's expanse. Hawks soar and bank while lesser breeds hunker down in their nests until the windstorm passes.

No storm clouds, just wind. Beauty and fury -- that's a Texas springtime.

Palm Sunday Festival

Palm Sunday Festival (click to play)

This Sunday I'll be playing a piece of music I created last year for Palm Sunday. It's combines a couple of traditional Palm Sunday hymns (All Glory, Laud and Honor and Rejoice the Lord is King) in a new setting. It's about 7 minutes long.

I will be playing only a portion of it as a Postlude this Sunday because of time constraints, but I thought you might it interesting.

The ending is meant to evoke the coming drama of Holy Week.

Happy Birthday Dad Hogue

March 30 -- 87 years young
He still looks the same as when I met him over 35 years ago!

Sprinklers

Yesterday the crew finished installing the system that will draw lake water for our sprinkler system. In the picture above, you may see the white PVC pipe stretching down the hill almost 500 feet to the pump submerged in the lake.

This project wasn't cheap. We considered it when the house was built but decided against it on the basis of cost. Well, nearly $400 a month water bills during the summer convinced us once again of the adage -- "the cheap man always pays the most." We figure the system will pay for itself in about three years.